MTV has greenlit FremantleMedia North America's "The Phone," executive produced by Justin Timberlake, it was announced yesterday at MTV Networks' 2008 Upfront presentation, "The Ultimate ROI: Return On Innovation" in New York City.

"The Phone" is scheduled to premiere fall 2008.

A reality game show based on the Dutch format by Park Lane Productions, "The Phone" takes viewers on a wild, cinematic 'run for your money' ride as contestants go on a no-holds-barred race against time.

Reminiscent of films like "Bourne Identity" and "The Game," two contestants will join forces and hit the ground running for their chance to win a huge cash prize.

"Genre-busting and reinvention is at the core of what we do, and 'The Phone' does just that. We're turning the reality competition format on its head and plunging the contestants into a real life 'Bourne Identity' -- not just in the tone and creative, but also in terms of the visual style and pacing.

Each week will be an action packed mini-movie. When you watch, your heart will pound as hard as the contestants. This is Popcorn TV!" said Tony Disanto, Executive Vice President, Programming and Series Development.

"'The Phone' is an exciting, innovative reality game that will make the viewer feel they're part of an espionage thriller that is gripping to the very end," says Cecile Frot-Coutaz, CEO of FremantleMedia North America.

"We're thrilled to be working with Justin Timberlake on such a ground-breaking project that is certain to keep viewers on the edge of their seats."

Each heart-pounding, non-stop, action-packed episode of "The Phone" begins with two strategically hidden cell phones ringing at opposite ends of a major metropolitan city.

Once answered, a mysterious guide gives contestants five seconds to concede whether or not they wish to play the game for a chance of winning a huge cash prize.

Once accepted, the competition begins, throwing the two contestants into a collaborative cliff-hanging race against time and odds to accomplish their given mission.

The guide will communicate with the contestants via cell phones as a helicopter in the sky tracks their every move, exploit and error - with each failed task chipping away at their coveted cash prize.

Click here to check out photos of Justin arriving at yesterdays MTV Upfront presenation in New York City.

For those who weren't up early enough, or had already gone into work, Justin called in to The Bert show this morning in Atlanta for their "Who Do You Know" contest (contest details here).

You can download the interview by right clicking/save target as here.

By Dave Lewandowski / indy500.com
Photo By: Ron McQueeney

Team co-owner Dennis Reinbold affectionately referred to the No. 99 William Rast car as the "jeep" as it was being towed to pit lane for the first day of practice at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Well, the olive (with orange accents) jeep with Townsend Bell at the wheel is quite quick on the 2.5-mile oval.

"The people around the Speedway were really into the new paint scheme," Bell said. "The flat green makes the car look like a fighting vehicle. It's a much different scheme than seen on any other car at the track. I think the more people that see the car the more people will like it. You can't miss the car on the track."

The livery was collaboration from another competitive field.

"I was karting in Southern California with Justin Timberlake and a few of his friends for a couple of weeks," Bell said. "We had camouflage hats from William Rast and everyone thought an army green look would be cool on an IndyCar. So I called Dennis and he made it happened. It is definitely a cool look."

Bell, who competed on the streets of St. Petersburg and at Twin Ring Motegi in the car with a different paint scheme, had a quick lap of 222.583 mph (of his 35).

"We went out to get a reading on the car's initial setup," he said. "With a couple of laps, I was flat on the throttle and the car's handling was outstanding. We have found a good starting point of the Month of May. That is always difficult here at Indy. The conditions and wind changes constantly. So you need to have a solid start with the car."

GoldLasVegasNow.com Now that Justin Timberlake has joined the likes of Arnold Palmer, Bob Hope and Byron Nelson as a host of a PGA Tour event, he appears to be quickly getting down to business. This year--and for at least the next five years--the Las Vegas PGA Tour event will be known as the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open (now affectionately dubbed by some as the 'JT Open', just as the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic is dubbed 'The Hope'). Timberlake is well-known for being one of the world's biggest stars, but not so much for his love of the links. He's a single-digit handicap, and is said to be thrilled with his new role. And so far he has been very 'hands on' in the planning for the Las Vegas golf tournament that will be held October 13-19 at the private TPC Summerlin, one of two Las Vegas TPC golf courses (the resort and public TPC Las Vegas is the other). Recently, Timberlake teed it up with Tournament Chairman Gary Davis and Shriners patient Katie Walker, took a 4-hour lesson in Las Vegas with fellow event committee member Butch Harmon, and played golf at the TPC Summerlin with his father, Paul, in addition to being involved in other tournament affairs.

Walker, now in college, was treated at the Shriners Hospital in Los Angeles when she was just a year old. Her leg was amputated and she received her first of many prostheses, and physical therapists at Shriners Hospitals taught her to walk. Shriners Hospitals for Children is a network of facilities in North America that provides superior medical care at no charge to children under the age of 18.

Walker, Davis and Timberlake teed it up at Riviera Country Club in California. Before playing golf Katie and Justin filmed a public service announcement for the tournament.

To check out a video of the interview, click here.

John Norris gets an exclusive sitdown with the dynamic duo after club show.
By John Norris

A short and sweet, nonstop high-energy dance party — that was the half-hour-plus set Madonna turned in Wednesday night at New York's Roseland Ballroom, in a special "secret" club show promoting her new LP, Hard Candy.

And after that, we got the rare — as in almost unheard of — opportunity to talk to Madonna and her special guest for the night, a certain talented dynamo named Justin Timberlake. I hate those tired "pop royalty" clichés, but what the hell: We had a 20-minute audience with the Queen of Pop and her Crown Prince.

So how was the show for them? "I think she killed it" was JT's assessment. As for Madge, "Yeah, it was very good. It was a bit airless — a bit of a hotbox in there." Well, it was plenty hot out in the audience, so I can imagine what it was like for them onstage.

I added 11 pictures of Justin and Madonna backstage at the Roseland concert. Click the thumbnails below to access the album.

For those who didn't manage to catch the performance tonight, I'm tellin you right now you missed out. But, I've added some photos to the gallery (thank you to TimberlakeSpain.com for most of them) for you to enjoy. Click on the thumbnails below to access them in the gallery.

For those who couldn't make it to Madonna's concert tonight in New York, MSN is streaming the show live. The show is scheduled for 10pm ET. Click here to watch it tonight.

Thank you to MadonnaDownload.com I have added a few pictures to the gallery of Justin heading into the second day of rehearsals for tomorrows show. Click on the thumbnails below to head to the album in the gallery.

All of the Madonna sites are reporting Justin will be performing with Madge at her Roseland Ballroom concert in New York tomorrow. He was spotted heading into a second day of rehearsals today.

If you want to attend the show, Madonna is giving away a large amount of free tickets for the fans who have helped "4 Minutes" reach the top spot. But you have to get there early if you want a chance at a ticket. If you can't make it to the show, it will be streaming live on MSN.

Promotion for The Love Guru will be picking up this coming month and with that, come tv appearances. Justin will be on Ellen on May 16th so mark your calendars.

Don't forget to pick up your copy of Madonna's latest album 'Hard Candy' which hits stores today. If you have iTunes or buy from Amazon MP3 and would like to purchase the album or just the tracks featuring Justin, click on the links below and they will take you directly to the album and songs in the iTunes or Amazon MP3 store.

Hard Candy (Full Album)
Buy Now on iTunes / Buy Now on AmazonMP3

Dance 2night
Buy Now on iTunes / Buy Now on AmazonMP3

Devil Wouldn't Recognize You
Buy Now on iTunes / Buy Now on AmazonMP3

Voices
Buy Now on iTunes / Buy Now on AmazonMP3

Miles Away
Buy Now on iTunes / Buy Now on AmazonMP3

In 1989, The Disney Corporation made a tactical decision to restore an old institution and bring back The Mickey Mouse Club. What began as a teen-aged variety show ended up as an extraordinary breeding ground for young entertainment talent and has helped define the cultural landscape for the past fifteen years. Musical stars NSYNC, Britney Spears, Cristina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake all got their starts on the show, as did actors Ryan Gosling and Keri Russell.

You can catch this special tonight at 9pm ET on the Biography Channel.